Episode 44 David Karchem – The Survivor With A Dream

More than 9 year ago, David Karchem suffered a stroke on his way home. The former executive’s life took an unexpected turn.

In his recovery David found his new calling. He is now heavily involved with University of Southern California stroke research projects. In 2016, he got involved with the Strokefocus community after our launch.

David wants to apply his own experience to drive stroke care to improve. He wants to challenge the myth that stroke recovery ends in 18 months. He uses his own experience, that he gained his smelling sense back in more than 6 years to prove that recovery extends much longer than the commonly believed timeline of only 18 months.

A very resourceful individual, David built his own electric scooter. He even applied to the PhD program of Occupational Therapy of University of Southern California.

New Episodes

Episode 59 Repost: Dr Debra Meyerson, Rebuilding Identity One Step At A Time
In 2010, when Debra was a professor at Stanford, she suffered a severe stroke. she lost all movement of her right arm and leg; even worse, Debra lost ...More

Episode 58 Sing Along – The Backstrokes Community Music Group For Stroke Survivors
Anne Tillinghast and Keith Parkhurst, The Backstrokes Community Music Group
Years ago, Anne was working as a medical scheduler for the Oregon Health ...More